Very simple and to the point, and I have known it for years: Strapping Young Lad is that perfect combo of both hardcore, aggressive Emperor-style metal and industrial, all with a man with enough rage to stop the wars in the Middle East dead in their tracks. And this CD does not disappoint, this has enough rage to rival even the mighty Hocico, and enough metal stylings to please even the most diehard metalhead and rivetheads. All I have to say on this one is simply: If you want pop, tame or mellow, stay away from these guys, this is extreme to the fucking core! Rating: 10. Aggro fans rally around one and all, and behold the power of unbridled rage! Also recommended are any SYL cd’s as well as Sielwolf. Enjoy! PS,also look for my interview with Devin at the Chicago show!

Reading like one slab slab of rhythmic noise, yet not danceable of course, this CD is one of the better noise comps I have heard in a while. Where most noise CDs I hear are of course just exercises in absurdity over doing anything truly creative, this has a sense of rhythm and time on it, as well as the use of my fun musical hobby: sample and sound linking. Track 3,by Destructive Genius, is a great example, with its’ minimal, pattering drum line over a monster roar and a distorted cat moan (which sounds more hellish than aforementioned) all in a kind of trance repetition, all of a sudden with a gun shot to destroy that mood when you least expect it. Rating: 8. Fans of drone and sound linking take note.

To pigeonhole any of Michael Gira’s projects is to soon look like a fool, given the array of musical prowess and interest he has. Just as people became comfortable with pigeonholing The Swans as industrial noise, they made several 360 degree turns at once, opting more for the dark, often ethereal death folk sound they perfected. After that perfection, they arrived back again with "The Great Annihilator" a mix of sharp industrial, goth rock and dark folk hymns, all with the gorgeous torch song of Jarboe’s stunning vocals. Same goes for Angels of Light. Their first CD, "New Mother" I fell in love with back in my, oddly enough, hardcore industrial days (where I was even more hardcore about it than now! Imagine that!), with it’s perfectly somber and dreamy acoustic melodies, like an ember that rose from "Soundtracks For The Blind" (the final Swans CD). It was proof that yet another maturation had begun. Same went for their "Oh How I Loved You", which to me was easily on "New Mother" status. I still miss Jarboe on the Angels Of Light releases, but eh Michael more than carries his own. Now on their third opus, it has made another change, feeling more like a loose jam session, all with that trademark DIY ethic that Gira is known for. Gira’s lyrics are as sharp and deadly as ever, yet with Angels of Light they are more tender, versus The Swans’ blunt poetic attack. He is still what we could call a modern day Leonard Cohen, a man seemingly drifting forever searching for himself and that perfect poem. But also mixed in are their folk ballads, touching and retrospective as ever, overflowing with emotion (yet another Gira trademark) and an Anne Sexton sense of confessionalism. There are no real strong points to the CD, as all the songs to me are meant to be listened to together, to let the complex world of theirs’ to flow together with every song. Rating: 10. For fans of The Swans’ latter day work (such as "World Of Skin" and "White Light From... ... ... "), Death In June, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave.

Very nice, cheaply priced compo of some of the top bands in the industrial/EBM/goth field. I’m guilty but I skipped on to the Ikon track," Heresy", given how big of an Ikon fan I am. They are simply the one band that gives Australia any merit in the music world (well them, Leviathon and Snog). The new track may be not yet fully produced but it is a strong indicator of yet another majestic, old school goth masterpiece by the seminal group. I was supposed to do an interview with them but I think they either dropped off the earth or forgot me. Highlights on this CD are Morthem Vlade Art’s "Splendor In The Grass" (reminds me of latter day Gary Numan vocally), Sabotage’s "Beat Up" (reminds me of an industrialized Souixie and The Banshees), Ikon’s "Heresy" (but of course), and 8KhZ Mono’s "Frequency" (reminds me a bit of X Marks The Pedwalk). Only bad points are In The Nursery’s cover of (take a guess!) Joy Division’s "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and Ophelia Burning. In the Nursery as usual is great on the track but the annoyance stems from the overcovering of the song by every band under the sun. They do it great but that shadow cannot be escaped. Why has no one covered "The Eternal"!??! Ophelia Burning is great until the chorus where the girl just bellows Cranberries style, otherwise I hear they are pretty good. The rest of the song is solid though, just the bellowing chorus needs to go. Nice little intro for those new to the scene and for current fans. Rating: 9

Their ?Copycat" video I saw a while back took the word ?awful’ to new heights, with it’s big hair and high kicking about in a underground crypt, all over some very stereotypical metal schlock. With this one, they have grown a deal, but still have a ways to go. At least the clichéd metal and big hair are gone, though the singer still can’t really sing above an Oasis-like nasal whine (in German) and bang out a guitar line that I’ve heard in every teen comedy ever made. Track 4 is the only one that really has any redeeming value to it, with it’s violin lines, though it still harbors a quasi-dance rhythm and that ?’Stefan-Ackerman with Down Syndrome" German drone on it. This CD may be progress for them from the pits of their past laughability, but goddamn do they still suck bad. They pretend to be metal and the metal element is not there at all. They pretend to be goth, and all the goth there is in this is their clothes. And their classical element they tote so much is in short spurts no longer than 20 seconds. I’m hoping their full length is better and that this is just a bad mistake for a song, but I’m kinda doubting it. I was wrong on the one part, Track 5, the remix of "Not Every Pain Hurts" is the only redeemable one, getting me safe away from that German whining, and is actually quite skillfully done. And it took Sabotage’s remix of that to save it! Well, we can only hope on the next one... ... ... ... Rating: 2. For metal/goth/classical stuff save your money and get My Dying Bride.